ANNUAL REPORT

What have been your favorite hangouts so far?

K: We’ve done a lot of really fun things, like mini golfing and swimming and going to baseball and basketball games, but the things I really like the most are when we just chill. We go for a walk or to a coffee shop and that just gives us time to talk, spend time together, and get to know each other and see what’s going on in each other’s lives.

F: I agree. Just going to a coffee shop and being able to talk is nice. It’s cool to be able to open up and have it be a chill space. I love basketball so I enjoyed the basketball games and just the music and hanging out. We also got lost in a graveyard once and we were walking around for a long time. That was fun!

What made you decide to continue your match ?

K: I’m really all about long-term relationships, and I think the more time we can spend together, the more we invest in our relationship, the better. And we’ve been having so much fun and enjoying it. I really love the organization as a whole. It just made sense to continue.

F: It was really nice to have someone I could trust to talk about things that maybe other people in my life won’t understand. I haven’t had that before. We also had a lot of fun and to have a friend that’s from a different generation is really interesting, to learn about how things were different when Kate was growing up versus now. I found that really cool.

K: Oh, yeah. Speaking of things being different now, we used a disposable camera to take some pictures around Minnehaha Falls and I found out the hard way it’s impossible to get that developed these days.

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What is one thing you’ve learned about yourself?

K: I was kind of worried about not being able to find fun things to do and not being able to come up with good ideas to be entertaining. But what I really learned is that’s not really what it’s about. It’s really about being a person that can be a listening ear and just be present. So it’s less about having to come up with creative ideas and more about being ourselves and spending time together.

F: I think one thing I really learned about myself is that I started accepting myself more for who I am. I really just figured it out and to have Kate there with me was the best thing that I could ask for. So that has been really helpful. It’s good to have that and I think that everybody should have someone like that.

What is one way you’ve seen each other grow throughout your match?

K: I think Finn said in the last answer that they really learned about themselves a lot in the last year and have come to accept themselves and that’s really, really huge. It took me until I was in my thirties, so to figure it out at 13, it’s a really good start.

F: I think this kind of goes for both of us, but one thing I have noticed is that Kate has become more open and we’ve been getting into the deeper stuff. We’ve been able to communicate better. I mean, I think we were always pretty good at it, but we got better and it’s become more of a deeper bond where it’s just open.

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What are some things that you’re looking forward to in this next year of mentorship?

K: I’m looking forward to some of the things that are on the itinerary coming up. It sounds like there’s a lot of fun group events. There’s been monthly hangouts that have been really fun to be with the larger community, but I’m also always really looking forward to our one-on-one time as well. It’s really nice to have a combination of both.

F: Yeah, I would have to agree with that. It is really nice to have the bigger community and I look forward to going to the events and hanging out with people. I’m kind of a shy person, so it’s been good for me to also grow in socializing, so I look forward to that.